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Foreign Affairs in the Young Nation
To what extent should the United States have
become involved in world affairs in the early 1800s?
P R E V I E W
Examine the map your teacher has projected,
or look at the map in Section 2 of your book.
Then answer these questions on another sheet
of paper.
3. What geographic advantages did the
United States have in a potential attack?
What geographic disadvantages did
it have?
1. What does this map show?
4. Suppose that it is 1796. Do you think the
United States should become involved in
world affairs? Why or why not?
2. What countries might have posed a potential threat to the United States in 1796?
R E A D I N G
N O T E S
Key Content Terms
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
neutrality
embargo
isolationism
blockade
Monroe Doctrine
Section 2
1. Complete the diagram to show foreign threats to the United States in 1789.
Unfriendly neighbors surrounded the country.
Foreign Threats
in 1789
2. Suppose George Washington has
just given his Farewell Address.
Complete the statement to explain
the foreign policy he thinks the
United States should pursue.
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I have declared a policy of neutrality and
isolationism. This means
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Section 3
1. What did the Jay Treaty resolve? How did the French respond to the treaty?
2. Draw and label a simple illustration to represent the XYZ Affair. Then describe how Congress
reacted to the incident.
Section 4
1. Describe what President Adams did to protect U.S. ships in the Atlantic. Then explain whether
you think he pursued the best foreign policy option.
2. Mark an X along the spectrum to indicate where President Adams’s response to attacks on U.S.
ships falls. Then write a sentence explaining your placement.
Isolationism
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Section 5
1. Why did Great Britain impress U.S. sailors in the early 1800s?
2. Create a simple drawing to represent the problem of piracy by the Barbary States of North Africa. Then explain President Jefferson’s dilemma.
Section 6
1. Describe how President Jefferson responded to piracy in the Mediterranean and to the continued seizures of ships by the British and French. Then explain whether you think he pursued the best foreign policy options.
2. Mark an X along the spectrum to indicate where President Jefferson’s response to piracy in the Mediterranean falls. Mark an O to indicate whether his response to seizures of U.S. ships by Great Britain and France reflected more isolationism or more involvement. Then write a sentence explaining your placements.
Isolationism
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Section 7
Complete the diagram to show the reasons why many Americans wanted to go to war with Great
Britain in early 1812.
impressment of sailors
Reasons for going
to war in 1812
Section 8
1. Complete the timeline of the War of 1812. For each month marked, briefly describe the event
that happened and create a symbol to represent it.
1812
July
1813
September
1814
August
1815
December
January
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2. Mark an X along the spectrum to indicate where President Madison’s decision to declare war
on Great Britain falls. Then write a sentence justifying your placement.
Isolationism
Total Involvement
Section 9
Why might the United States have been interested in supporting the new Latin American nations
in the early 1800s?
Section 10
1. In your own words, explain what the Monroe Doctrine said. Then explain whether you think
President Monroe pursued the best foreign policy option.
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2. Mark an X along the spectrum to indicate where the Monroe Doctrine falls. Then write a sentence explaining your placement.
Total Involvement
Isolationism
P R O C E S S I N G
John Adams was so proud of avoiding war with France that he wanted that fact engraved on his
tombstone. On a separate sheet of paper, create a tombstone like the one below for each of these presidents:
George Washington (1732–1799)
John
Adams
John Adams (1735–1826)
1735–1826
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
James Madison (1751–1836)
James Monroe (1758–1831)
He avoided war
with France.
He should have
been more involved
in world affairs
because . . .
Each tombstone should include
• the years the president lived.
• one example of how the president became involved in foreign affairs.
• one sentence explaining to what extent you think the president should have been involved in
world affairs.
• a symbol representing the president’s foreign policy decisions.
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R E A D I N G
F U R T H E R
Preparing to Write: Analyzing Motives
“This Land Is Your Land” is a famous song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One line
says that the land—the physical United States—was made for you and for me. Just who owns
the land has been an ongoing question in our nation’s history. The Shawnee leader Tecumseh
challenged both American Indians and the U.S. government on land ownership.
According to Tecumseh, why should a tribe not sell land?
Why did Tecumseh want to unite American Indian tribes?
Why did Tecumseh refuse to retreat at the Battle of the Thames?
Writing About Points of View
White settlers and the U.S. government believed they had a right to buy land from American
Indians. Tecumseh and his followers argued that the Indians did not have the right to sell the
land. The two groups had different points of view. On the next page, you will write a statement
about each point of view. Make sure your statements are free of spelling and grammar errors.
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Write a short statement explaining the point of view of a white settler. Give supporting details
for this point of view.
Write another statement explaining the point of view of a follower of Tecumseh. Give supporting details for this point of view.
Use this rubric to evaluate your statements. Make changes in your statements if you need to.
Score
Description
3
The statements have a clear point of view and supporting details. There are
no spelling or grammar errors.
2
The statements have a point of view and some supporting details. There are
some spelling or grammar errors.
1
The statements do not have a clear point of view or many details. There are
many spelling or grammar errors.
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